I wish they would pick some other month. The bill paying job has been in retail these past decades and November is just a little better than December when it comes to Time to Write, which means it's practically non-existent. April would be good. Maybe I'll be done with my current project by then.

Nothing keeping me from making my own NanoWriMo, but it's just more fun to be part of a movement!

I always thought NoNoWriMo was valuable ... as an exercise. I was doubtful, though, about the quality of the results. Writing fiction against a tight deadline creates obvious difficulties that are usually overcome only through careful and sometimes time-consuming revision. And what I'd seen over past years wasn't too encouraging.

But, heck, was I surprised last year when I picked up on a manuscript submission to my own wee pulishing house from an author in the US. After contracts were exchanged and we got involved in the editing process (author-editor relationships can become very chummy), the author told me that the first draft -- the ms he had sent me -- was produced on the fly for the NaNoWriMo challenge with only a basic line edit before submission.

Kid you not, folks, it's one of the best novels I've ever read. Just goes to show that -- for some anyway -- writing against the clock can work well and that NaNoWriMo can be much more than merely a workout and a lesson in discipline. The book will be released soon in paperback and ebook, so please watch this space.

Cheers. Neil

PS: The author, who writes as Bosley Gravel, has a PRS-505. Must invite him to join in here. N

There are certain styles (and I suspect authors) for which the flow is key - and the "discipline" of sitting down and letting the words flow out at speed can produce an excellent read that a more measured writing style will never match. That said, I think you have to have both passion and an idea (or at least direction) to start with.

I think it's a matter of horses for courses, LazyScot. Some authors work to such a detailed blueprint that most of their creative time is spent in the planning stage and the actual writing is just a matter of following the outline. Others are able to take a blank sheet and let the story write itself and the characters go where they will. More often than not, a private mix of the two systems produces the best result.

Hemingway was right when he said, "The first draft of anything is shit." But the sole example I meantioned above does show that, sometimes at least, the first draft -- right off the top of the head -- is all there bar the fine tuning.

Good luck to anyone with the courage and dedication to meet this challenge. Cheers. Neil